Look at us! First #allthebookreviews selection after some time off and it’s an absolute hit for both of us.
Thanks to Berkley Pub for the gifted copies in exchange for our honest reviews
SIGN HERE – Claudia Lux (Releasing October 25th, 2022)
Book Description:
A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.
Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.
When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.
But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.
Chandra’s Thoughts: 5/5 stars
“A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.”
This is the perfect synopsis for this book. And this is her DEBUT?!?! I see nothing but great things for her after reading SIGN HERE. Holy Moly… or Helly Smelly… in either case, I absolutely loved this read. At first I wasn’t sure what to think. I found it to be a bit on the campy side and wondered if it was going to be *too* campy for my particular taste but the further I read, the more involved I became and I kept teeter tottering on which story line I liked better .. and when it all finally meshed, it surprised me. One of the rare occasions where I didn’t try to figure it all out and just read.
OF COURSE Hell would just be competitive work and striving to move up that hell corporate ladder. OF COURSE. If you’re a fan of Grady Hendrix you’ll most probably absolutely love this book. *wink* Consider this a light horror/thriller mix splashed with humor and a lot of heart. High recommend.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
Well, this was something so fun and refreshing, especially considering this takes place in Hell. SIGN HERE is exactly what I needed – the perfect balance between light horror, dark humor, and some thriller/mystery vibes. It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a book that had such a unique premise to it, I gotta say that I love thinking about Hell being run like an awful corporate job. When you really sit there and think about it, it would be pretty hard to have the Devil himself signing all of those contracts with people, so you leave that busywork to those residing in Hell.
I don’t want to get into too many of the details but I’ll try to share some information. Pey is in Hell and is responsible for signing deals for souls. He has set a personal goal and he just needs to get one more member of the Harrison family to sign a deal with him. Of course, things happening in Hell and things happening on Earth aren’t always going to coincide the way you want them to. There were two different storylines and I honestly don’t know which one I enjoyed more. It was fun seeing the inner-workings of Hell but then seeing the Harrison family on Earth was also very engaging and kept my full attention. All kinds of chaos and I couldn’t wait to see how they would come together in the end.
I saw another reviewer say that this has the vibes from the show Human Resources, but set in Hell, and I completely agree with that comparison. I applaud Lux for such a solid debut novel and I’m mad I have to wait now to read more from her until her next release, no backlist to work at while I wait. If you’re looking for something that’s more on the lighter side of the horror genre but has some dark humor and heart, then this is the perfect combination of that. It’s so hard to place this into just one genre and I think that’s what I loved about it. Highly recommend and can’t wait for more from this author.
Jessicamap Reviews 